NEED CALCIUM? FORGET MILK!

When most people think of calcium they think of dairy products- milk, cheese, yohgurt. And if you asked most people how they would combat osteoporosis their likely response would be to eat more dairy products, meaning milk, cheese and yohgurt. Those marketing people have really done their job in promoting the Dairy Industry but what about your health? 

Our bodies have heaps of calcium stored in our bones and teeth. Only when our bodies are not receiving adequate calcium from our diets will our bodies start to extract the calcium it needs from the bones and teeth. 
But a diet high in dairy products gives us calcium, right? That's what we are told, right? Dairy products do contain calcium but unfortunately it is not the type the body requires and in fact it actually depletes the body's own reserves of calcium (the cause of osteoporosis in the first place). Western women consume the most dairy products in the world yet have the highest incidence of osteoporosis. Can anyone see a link? In fact, respected and famous physician, Colin Campbell, author of The China Study on his website quotes "In a 12-year Harvard study of 78,000 women, those who drank milk 3 times per day actually broke more bones than women who rarely drank milk" www.tcolincampbell.org

Have you ever noticed that humans are the only animals that continue drinking milk past infancy? And we drink the hormonally and chemically controlled breast milk of another species! I know it's considered 'normal' but it is kinda weird if you think about it for longer than 10seconds and forget about tradition. And we all know how important it is for a breast feeding mother to be vigilant about what she eats because it affects her baby yet we really have no idea what is in the cup of cows milk we give our 2yr old and the rest of the family. It makes no sense. Seems we have just become accustomed to it.

So, where do we get the RIGHT calcium?

Well, let's think about it. Where do cows get calcium? Milk? Cheese?  Yohgurt? No! No! No! Cows get calcium from plants, of course! Grass is high in calcium so unless the cow is being fed grain and corn, which is not good for the cow or you,  the green grass provides them all the calcium they need. 

Get your calcium from brocolli, butternut pumpkin, sweet potato, onions, chick peas, tofu, baked beans, almonds and brown rice amongst others. Your body is able to absorb and use the calcium from these foods and they won't wreak havoc on your digestive system and leave you feeling bloated, cramped and nauseous. Our bodies love plants, especially well grown organic ones. 

As Robert Cohen says "How ironic it is that the dairy industry continues to promote the cause of bone disease as the cure". Ironic? I'd call it shamefully dishonest and misleading.